Blake Moore will run again in leadership despite GOP midterm losses

SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Blake Moore will run for a leadership position in the newly configured House, seeking reelection to his post as vice chairman of the Republican conference.

Moore currently serves as the conference vice chair, the fifth-highest ranking position in the majority and tasked with assisting members on messaging and communications — a position that will be critical heading into the next election cycle. With Democrats taking control of the House after their massive midterm wins on Tuesday, Republicans will be shifting to the defensive, making Moore's job different from how he's approached it in the last three years.

"The actual role of the vice chair position is to ensure each individual member of the conference has what they need to communicate their own message, and also professional development opportunities for the member and staff," Moore told the Deseret News. "So that wouldn't change much? Now, it will be more reactive to what Democrat leadership is doing as opposed to what we're driving. We've spent a lot of time highlighting all of the successful legislative wins that we've had over the last 18 months. There would be less of that and more so contrasting."

Leadership elections are scheduled to take place next week when lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., for the first time since mid-September. Republicans must declare which position they'd like to pursue by Friday, with elections set for Tuesday.

While Moore will seek reelection to the vice chair position, he noted a caveat. The Utah Republican is also vying for the top spot on the House Budget Committee, which likely won't be decided until sometime in December.

If Moore secures the ranking member position on the panel, he'll forfeit his position as vice chair, he said.

"I would not serve as both," Moore said. "If I were to be elected and chosen as the top Republican on the Budget Committee, then I would step down from vice chair later, which is the progression that I would want."

Moore acknowledged he is not the most senior member of the Budget Committee, so the position could go to Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., who is next in line for the position.

It's not yet clear whether Moore will face a challenge for vice chair.

Other House Republican leaders are expected to face a reckoning in their reelection bids next week. By moving into the minority, there are fewer leadership positions on the totem pole than are currently available — possibly forcing top party members into head-to-head fights.

But rank-and-file Republicans may push for new leadership heading into the new Congress, especially after a brutal midterm showing in which Democrats are set to gain more seats than initially projected. That may spell bad news for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who would need to make the case that he deserves another term as the top party member.

That could pit him against current Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who may also face backlash from GOP members after Tuesday's shellacking. Other members are also rumored to challenge the current leadership, including Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio and Republican Study Conference Chairman August Pfuger, R-Texas.

Lawmakers are likely to begin announcing leadership bids this week.

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